ICA Counsel to Speak at Internet Governance Program in Singapore

ICA Counsel Philip Corwin has been asked to speak at “ICANN and Global Internet Governance: The Road to São Paulo, and Beyond”, a program being held on Friday, March 21st in Singapore just before the start of the first ICANN meeting of the year. The full day program is being sponsored by ICANN’s Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC). Corwin will be a member of the day’s first panel discussion, focused on “Setting the Scene: Overview of Recent Agenda-Setting Initiatives”. Other panelists include ICANN Board member GeorgeSadowsky.

ICANN Chairman of the Board Steve Crocker will deliver opening remarks at the event, followed by a report from ICANN’s Head of Stakeholder Relations and Communications Sally Costerton on preparations for next month’s Netmundial Internet Governance meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The program will end with a keynote address from Assistant Secretary of Commerce and NTIA head Larry Strickling.

In addition to his participation in the NCUC program, Corwin represents ICA on ICANN’s Business Constituency (BC) and is one of four BC members who have been appointed to the Cross-Constituency Working Group (CCWG) formed to develop a coordinated ICANN stakeholder response and position on various proposals to “globalize” ICANN and the IANA root zone functions contract. He has also recently started a two-year term on the Internet Committee of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and has been assigned to its Internet Governance Subcommittee, where he is now heading a project team monitoring and analyzing the details and progress of these globalization efforts.

His participation in these activities help assure that the interests and concerns of the domain investment community are articulated and taken into account as these key debates continue. The final form of any new globalization regime could have a direct and major impact on the continued ability of domain investors and other Internet entrepreneurs to innovate and thrive. ICANN’s current model relegates governments to an advisory role, but some globalization proponents would prefer to have ICANN subject to multilateral government oversight and the politics that would inevitably accompany it.